Exports of tin and silver were the mainstays of the economy for many decades. however, today, as the market for tin has declined, the country has become an exporter of other metallic ores, such as gold.

In an effort to japan recover from the devastating effects of the 1929 depression, japanese military leaders in the 1930s formed an alliance with nazi germany negotiated more trade treaties with the soviet union closed its doors to western trade adopted a policy of imperialist expansion